All the single ladies, put your hands up!

[Jennifer T]

Hi everyone,

Well it doesn't get any newbie-r than me. The last time I did any backpacking I was 15 years old (more than half my lifetime ago), and while I've done day hikes here and there and am rather fit, I'm intimidated at the thought of going on a backpacking trip on my own. There is so much to learn! I'd love to find a group of women who are similarly new to this so we could learn together, or maybe even a more experienced chick who wouldn't mind showing me the ropes. (I know the best way to learn is probably through a class, and I was hoping a BPL class would be offered this summer but I don't see one listed.) I'm based in southwest Virginia where I'm hoping to finish up my master's thesis in the next several months but I'd welcome the distraction and challenge of some backpacking. I'm totally willing to travel anywhere in the states–especially somewhere out west. Let me know if you'd like to join me as I learn about backpacking light, or if you have suggestions on how I can find some fun gals to hike with! (By the way, I'm not completely opposed to the idea of hiking with guys, as long as they don't make fun of me too much for making the inevitable dumb mistakes along the way :-)

Jennifer

[Andrew Crane]

My Good friend Monica lives in the same part of Va. I am from Va beach but now live In Pa the best state to hike besides Cali. I can let her know about your post and she can deff show you the ropes she has surprised me on some extended backpacking trips.

[BlackHatGuy]

Hi Jennifer,

I believe there's a Meetup group near you that does backpacking, you might want to check out Meetup.com (it's not a date site) and search for backpacking in your area.

[CW]

Hi Jennifer-

There will be 2 courses offered by BPL this year, but the format will be different than what has been offered in the past. You can get some details on the one you'd likely be most interested in at Ryan Jordan's personal site.

[Jennifer T]

Thanks everyone — great tips! I think I'm going to try to do one of the BPL courses.

Happy Backpacking!

Jennifer

[Ken Helwig]

Jennifer, many of us on the West Coast (Left Coast) have a yearly meet up and many of us do many hikes together from this. A suggestion would be to try to do the same. That way you get many different options for hiking both male and female, as well as differing ideas on how to hike etc. Just a thought

[Miguel Arboleda]

Hi Jennifer, welcome!

Why would someone make fun of you? There are a lot of newbie guys here, too! :-)

I guess one thing about this group and UL hikers in general is the sense that there is always something to be learned and so most people go out of their way to help each other and provide useful and well-considered information on walking safe with UL methods. Most of us have experienced the anxiety of trying out these methods for the first time and know how uncertain you can feel heading out there. And since hiking UL style is based on thinking in terms of a system, learning from others is necessary. For all of us.

Anyway, I hope you find the women's group you are looking for. But also, please don't feel uncomfortable with the men here, either. There are some great people here, men and women!

[Andy Schill]

Jennifer,

I'm sure you can find a great group of female backpackers in your area. Maybe head over to Whiteblaze.net? That forum seems to be focused around the AT, and probably has a lot of members in your direct area.

However, if you just wanted to get out, me and two of my good friends (all guys unfortunately) are doing a week on the AT in VA, leaving a week from this Saturday, leaving from Damascus. Your more than welcomed to join, we never judge anyone and do very relaxed trips, but again we are all males.

[Author]

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